Culture Insider: Chic items in ancient China

Updated:
Nov 13,2014 10:37 AM
Chinaculture.org

A barbecue grill made with glazed pottery from the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220). The grill has pottery cicadas on it.[Photo/Xinhua]

The ancient Chinese are not that “ancient” as modern people imagine. They used refrigerators, barbecue grills, carried handbags, wore high-heeled shoes and even used a diving suit. The cultural relics left by them tell us how they fully enjoyed their lives a long time ago. Let’s take a peek.

A maid from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) with a handbag is seen on a Dunhuang fresco. The murals in Dunhuang, Gansu province are gems of ancient Chinese art.[Photo/Xinhua]

A watch-like finger ring was excavated from an archeological site in Shangsi county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. This burial artifact belonged to a royal man who lived during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). [Photo/Xinhua]

This is regarded as the earliest refrigerator in China. The bronze fou (a crock with a narrow opening) from the Warring States Period (475-221BC) was excavated from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (Chinese: Zeng Hou Yi), an important archaeological site in Hubei province. Space between the fou’s layers can store ice. [Photo/Xinhua]

A painting of women playing “Chinese golf”- Chuiwan, during the Ming Dynasty. Chuiwan, literally means “ball-hitting” and was a game in ancient China. The popularity of this game peaked in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Its rules resemble modern golf.[Photo/360doc.com]

A “mileage recorder” carriage used by noble people during the Han Dynasty (260 BC-AD220). Two wooden men stand on the carriage with drumsticks in their hands. When the carriage moved 500 meters, a wooden man would beat the drum. When the carriage moved 5,000 meters, another wooden man beat the drum as well.[Photo/Xinhua]

A celadon bow from the Three Kingdoms period (220-280).[[Photo/Xinhua]

A pair of high-heeled shoes from the Ming Dynasty.[Photo/Xinhua]

A “diving suit” with equipment to supply the diver with oxygen while collecting pearls. Its introduction can be found in The Exploitation of the Works of Nature (Tiangong Kaiwu ), an encyclopedia covering a wide range of technical issues, published during the Ming Dynasty.[Photo/Xinhua]

“Lemon tea glass” from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) excavated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province in 1990. It was made of mineral crystal, with rare craftsmanship.[Photo/Xinhua]

A painting of a woman wearing a hairnet during the Tang Dynasty.[Photo/Xinhua]